The Things I Love About You
by Annarita
Summary: "Well, no matter what happens, Harm, you did it for the right reasons. You never would have been able to not help those other pilots. You always know the right thing to do. It's one of the things I love about you." The remark slipped out before she could filter herself.
1. Chapter 1

**The Things I Love About You**

_Set after "All Ye Faithful."_

_Rating: K+_

_Summary: "Well, no matter what happens, Harm, you did it for the right reasons. You never would have been able to not help those other pilots. You always know the right thing to do. It's one of the things I love about you." The remark slipped out before she could filter herself._

_Disclaimer: As always, I only own the typos._

_I'm still bitter from NCIS: LA. I know I should let it go, but I'm the type of person that is really good at holding a grudge, and I can't. I have more places I want to take Harm and Mac in my "Together" Universe with Caroline, but I am REALLY struggling to write post-finale fics right now. I started a "fix" for the disaster that whole NCIS:LA arc was, but I can't even find the motivation to finish that either. This little story, however, practically wrote itself when I decided to ease my way into watching JAG again by watching only the Christmas episodes._

* * *

"And, well, there you have it. That is where my wings are, and whether or not I'll get another pair is still kind of up in the air at the moment," Harm finished telling Mac the events of his day as they finished up the last of the dishes from the dinner party.

They had a good system going. He would wash the dishes and she would dry them. Their rhythm was effortless and it came so naturally. As they worked in tandem, Mac couldn't help but to wonder how their rhythm would be in other ways – like the bedroom perhaps. She shook her head and tried to push the thoughts away.

"You'll get to keep your wings, Harm. He was bluffing," she assured him – her voice gentle.

Harm shrugged. "I'm not sure, Mac. There's a good chance that I may have pushed the envelope too far tonight."

"Well, no matter what happens, Harm, you did it for the right reasons. You never would have been able to _not_ help those other pilots. You always know the right thing to do. It's one of the things I love about you." The remark slipped out before she could filter herself.

"Oh yeah?" He flicked a soap bubble at her and laughed when it landed square on her nose. She looked so cute when she tried to blow it away, but failed. "What else do you love about me?" he asked, softly, as he used his thumb to brush away the soap residue from her nose.

Mac couldn't stop the blush the crept up her neck and to her cheeks. "That's classified information, Commander." She tucked her hair behind her ear out of a nervous habit.

Harm cocked his head to the side – he wanted to push some more and see what else she would divulge, but she seemed distracted all night and he decided to let it go for the time being. "Alright, alright," he conceded before deciding to change tactics. "Well, I told you about _my _day, why don't you tell me about _yours_?" He suggested.

Mac opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Harriet's voice could be heard from the family room.

"AJ Roberts," Harriet repeated for the (third) time. "I am not telling you again. It is time for bed."

"But I don't wanna!" The child whined.

"AJ," came Bud's voice. "Listen to your mother."

Harm dried his hands as Mac put away the last dish. "Do you think we should offer reinforcements?" he asked as he nodded his head towards the family room.

Mac nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sometimes these things require a Marine's touch," she replied with a smirk. "All you Navy people just wouldn't understand," she teased.

As he followed her to the family room, Harm couldn't help the way his gaze focused on her six and how that dress she was wearing hugged her body in all the right places.

"What's going on in here, Sailor?" Mac said to AJ as she kneeled on the floor in front of the couch so she could be at AJ's level. "Are you disobeying orders?" She asked, an eyebrow raised.

AJ wouldn't make eye contact with his Aunt Mac, but he nodded his head. "Yes," he said softly.

"And why is that?" Mac wondered.

* * *

Harm and Bud gave the trio their space and stood in the foyer as Harriet took a seat next to AJ on the couch. Mac and AJ were speaking so softly that Bud and Harm couldn't hear their conversation, but it warmed Harm's heart to see the interaction between Mac and their godchild.

"The colonel is going to be an amazing mother someday," Bud commented as he watched AJ's body language change from across the room - whatever Mac was whispering to the child was working.

"Yes," Harm agreed quickly, he eyes focused completely on the scene before them. "She really is."

Bud noticed the way the senior officer focused so intently on Mac. "And you'll make a pretty great dad yourself, Commander. You two would be really good at it..._together_," he added – taking a move from his wife's playbook. He didn't want to meddle in the lives of his senior officers, but he noticed a change in the two of them lately, and maybe they needed a few nudges.

Harm almost slipped and told Bud that per their deal the day AJ was born that was the plan, but an audible gasp from Harriet caused Bud to make his was over to his family. He watched as Bud and Harriet whispered inaudible words to their son as they both hugged him, and Mac took a step backwards.

"Well," she said at a normal volume, "I think it's time for Harm and I to leave and let you guys be."

"Let me get your coats," Bud offered as he attempted to stand up from the couch.

"We can let ourselves out," Mac said as she waved her hand for him to sit back down. "Merry Christmas," she smiled warmly. "Remember what I said, AJ," she said to the child as she dropped a kiss to his forehead.

AJ crawled out his mother's embrace and wrapped his arms around Mac's legs. "Love you, Auntie Mac."

"You know I love you," she said as she scooped him up into her arms.

"And that goes double for me!" Harm said as he reached over to tickle AJ.

AJ's delightful laughter filled the room. "I love you too, Uncle Harm."

It took a few more minutes to say their goodbyes to the Roberts family before Harm helped Mac into her coat and the two of them made their way outside.

"Oh, wow," Mac commented as she noticed the winter wonderland that was now outside. "I didn't realize it snowed this much. Oh!" she exclaimed as her high heel hit a patch of ice on the sidewalk and she began to slide.

Harm's hands quickly found their way to her waist and he steadied her much like he did at the embassy party all those years ago. "Careful, Marine." He didn't loosen his hold on her as they walked to her car in the drive way.

"Do you, um, need a ride home?" she finally asked.

"The Lexus is over there," he pointed down the street. "By the time I got here, it was the only place left to park."

"Oh, I figured you took a taxi or something..." she trailed off.

"I stopped home long enough to get the Lexus, and that was it. I was already so late that I didn't even go inside to change," he explained.

She nodded, trying to think of something to say to make the moment last longer. She didn't care that the snowfall was abundant or that it was freezing outside. She just loved being this close to him – that he was still touching her and holding her close.

It was almost as if he could read her mind. "You know, Mac, there a good five inches or so of snow on the ground already. Why don't I drive you home in the Lexus and we can come back for the Vette tomorrow? I'm sure AJ will want to show us all his gifts anyway."

"I would appreciate that, Harm."

Harm's eyes grew wide for a moment – he was expecting her to put up a fight with him. He didn't think she'd agree so readily. "Okay. Wait here, I'll pick you up in the driveway."

"Nah," she shook her head. "I don't mind walking...as long as you make sure I don't fall?"

The look in her eyes was different, Harm realized, and he flashed a Flyboy grin at her. "It would be an honor...and a privilege," he said as he pulled her closer to him and they walked towards the SUV.

The drive back to her Georgetown apartment took a good forty minutes longer than it should have. The roads were horrendous and a random, sudden snow squall left white out conditions for a few miles.

"Wow," Mac said when Harm parked the Lexus in an empty parking spot. "That was something else." She held her breath for most of the drive – she trusted Harm's driving immensely, but it was the other drivers that she didn't trust. Although, the roads were just _that_ bad that being a good driver wouldn't have really made much of a difference anyways. "It's really bad out, Harm. Why don't you crash here tonight?"

He thought about it for a minute. The roads _were_ awful and he didn't want to tempt fate too much all in one day, plus spending more time with Mac was something that he would always want. "Okay," he agreed. "Thank you, Mac."

She smiled warmly at him. "Anytime," was her reply.

Her voice held an unfamiliar tone that Harm couldn't quite place, but he felt it matched the look in her eyes back at Harriet and Bud's when they were standing outside in the driveway.

"Make yourself at home," Mac said when they finally entered her apartment. "I'm going to go change – I'll be right back."

Harm simply nodded as he dropped his sea bag by the door and watched Mac walk towards her bedroom.

Mac kicked off her shoes and removed her jewelry before she reached for the zipper on her dress. "Damn it," she cursed when she could only get the zipper to move three inches. "Uh, Harm?" she called out. "Can you come here for a second?" Briefly, she wondered how she would have been able to get out of her dress if he _wasn't_ there tonight.

"Mac?" His voice sounded muffled coming from the other side of the door. "What's wrong?"

"My zipper is stuck!" She called back as she walked towards her bedroom door and opened. "Hi," she said softly when she came face- to-face with a slightly disheveled Harmon Rabb, Jr., his tie was loosened, his shirt was untucked with three buttons undone. He was clearly in the process of changing himself.

"Hi," he parroted back to her, his voice low.

"I'm, uh, stuck," she chuckled. His gaze was magnetic and she couldn't break eye contact "The fabric got caught in the zipper," she explained as she finally turned around to grant Harm access to the zipper. Her breath caught in her throat for the thirty – two seconds that it took for Harm to disengage the fabric from the teeth of the zipper.

"There you go," he said as he pulled it down low enough that she'd be able to work with it, but not too low that it would be considered inappropriate. He caught a glimpse of her dark emerald bra, and secretly wondered if she had on matching panties. He mentally scolded himself for thinking that way in this moment, but he couldn't help but to notice the trail of goosebumps that appeared where his thumb brushed the skin on her back. It felt forbidden and so natural all at once.

"Thank...you," she managed.

"Anytime," he repeated her response from the parking lot, adding a wink for good measure, before retreating from her room so she could finish changing.

Now freed from her dress, Mac pulled open the dresser door and was about to reach for a pair of red and black buffalo check pajamas before another set of pajamas caught her eye – her cowboy Christmas pajamas to be exact. She remembered how smitten Harm had been when he caught her in them last year, and decided it wouldn't hurt to wear them tonight.

Smiling, she slipped into the cowboy pajamas before she washed off her make up and went to find Harm. She found him in the kitchen. He looked so attractive to her as he was making tea for them in his gray and blue plaid pajama pants and a white t-shirt.

He could sense her presence, and he looked up to see her. The corners of his mouth turned into a smirk when he realized what she was wearing. "Cute," he commented.

She grinned - she knew that would be his response. "I thought they were appropriate." Harm finished preparing Mac's tea and slid the mug over to her. "Thanks. I needed this."

"I was going to make up the couch, but I couldn't find the blankets."

"Oh, Mic did some rearranging when he moved in...I keep meaning to put things back the way I had them before, but I never seem to have the time." She chuckled awkwardly, "It's been over a year and a half...I probably should have taken care of that by now."

"Time has a way of slipping by," he commented.

Mac saw their whole partnership and friendship flash through her mind. "Yeah, it does. But no one needs to sleep on the couch tonight, we can both sleep in my room."

Harm's eyebrow shot up. "You're willing to share your bed with me?"

_And then some,_ she thought. Her eyes sparkled when she replied, "Well, it _is_ Christmas."

"Thanks, Mac," he flashed the smile that he only used on her, a lame attempt to convey all the words he struggled to say with her. "Well, in the spirit of Christmas, I won't be a blanket hog."

"Do you _promise_?" she egged him on, amused with banter.

"Now, now, Mac, I don't know if I'd go that far..." He enjoyed listening to her beautiful laughter for a second before he spoke again. "You know," he took a sip from his mug, "we never finished our conversation before we got interrupted back at Bud and Harriet's."

Mac nearly choked. "About the reasons I love you?"

She could have sworn she saw him blush as he shook his head. "No, you didn't get to tell me about you day."

"Oh," Mac said dumbly, "That. Well," she began to relay the events of the day to him as she filled him in on some of her cases, her phone call from Chloe, and how the admiral delivered another baby in his office. "Oh! But that's not even the best part." She shifted in her seat at the island and pulled her legs up under her.

"Oh, really?" He leaned forward against the countertop, merely inches away from her. "And what is that?"

"Harriet is pregnant!" she exclaimed, happily. "That's actually why Little AJ was so upset earlier...he thought he would be replaced by the new baby," she added.

_Harriet is pregnant_.

Harm couldn't find his voice to speak, he simply stared at the beautiful woman in front of him – his partner, his best friend, and the woman he wanted to spend an eternity with. He thought about the day AJ was born, he thought about Baby Sarah, and he thought about their deal. He imagined another place and another time where Mac would tell him she was pregnant with their baby. In fact, he became so lost in thought thinking about the future that he wanted with Mac, that the next thing he noticed was Mac waving a hand in front of his face.

"Earth to Hammer! Hello? Commander!"

Harm blinked a few times and shook his head. "Sorry, Mac," he apologized. "I'm really happy for Bud and Harriet; they deserve this."

"Where were you just now? You were a million miles away."

"I was just...thinking..." he deflected poorly -incredibly poorly for the articulate attorney he was in the courtroom.

Mac raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come on, Harm. You can do better than that. Tell me."

"It's quite the baby boom at JAG, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"It makes you think about things, doesn't it?"

She nodded. A beat or two passed and Harm didn't offer anything else. "Things like...?" she prompted.

He finished off his tea and placed the empty mug in the sink. "Well...you know..." he walked towards the living room.

Mac was at his heels. "Things like _what_, Harm," she asked again. She wanted him to say it. He had to say it.

He spun around to face her and once again his gaze was magnetic, intoxicating. For once her internal clock failed her and she had no idea how long they had been staring at each other like that.

He took a step closer to her and reached for her hands. "Like our deal…the baby deal," he finally said.

It was what she had so desperately wanted him to say, but now that he did and he was holding her hands so tenderly between his, she couldn't seem to formulate a coherent sentence. Could this be the time they were finally on the same page at the same time? She wanted to believe it, but the rejection of that night in Sydney Harbor was suffocating her mind and her heart once again.

When she didn't speak, Harm continued. "It was never just about having a baby with you, Mac."

"Oh?" she finally managed.

"It was about wanting to spend my whole entire life with you, completely. Forever – for an eternity."

She wanted to believe him; she really did. She didn't think he would ever lie to her, but she couldn't help thinking about that night in Sydney. "Then what happened in Sydney Harbor?" she asked, softly.

"Sarah," he used her given name again and brought his hand to her face. "I never said no. I just said not yet, and then...then..."

"I literally ran into Mic's waiting arms." She finished.

He nodded, sadly – all he wanted was a little bit of time, but he managed to push her into the arms of one of sleeziest men he's ever known.

"Why?" she asked. "Why did you do it? Why did you pump the breaks on us that night?"

He took a deep breath. "For purely selfish reason, I guess. So much had happened back – to- back, you know? I was still struggling with the truth about my father's fate and we weren't on good terms ever since I had my eye surgery behind your back. Hell, our only really good moment after that was the baby deal itself."

She flashed a smile as she remembered that moment.

"And then when I finally came back to JAG after flying...well, I had to deal with the huge setback it was for my career and the fact that _we _missed out on so much while I was gone. I came back and it's like I was an outsider looking in on your life...like I was replaced by Bug Me. We weren't connecting with each other like we did before I left."

She opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his head and gently placed a finger to her lips.

"I guess what I am trying to say, is I had a lot of baggage to work through and I _did _want to say yes to you that night in Sydney, but I didn't want to burden you with all of baggage and bring into the start of a relationship between us. So, I thought by saying "not yet" I was doing the right thing...for us...so that when the time was right, we would be stronger than ever."

Mac couldn't help the tears that were spilling from her eyes. She wished he would have explained it like that back in Australia. She wished she would have been able to read between the lines. But most importantly, she wished she could undo all the damage that came as a result of her seeking attention and comfort from Mic Brumby. She wanted to speak, but now it was her turn to struggle with finding the appropriate words.

"You asked me once what I was willing to give up for you, but you left before you heard my answer." He placed his hands on either side of her face – so gently – and didn't speak again until she was looking in his eyes. "I was willing to give it _all _up, Mac. Obviously, I would have given up Renee in a second, but I would, no, will," he corrected. "I will give up, JAG, my flight status, even my commission in the Navy if that's what it would take for us to be together. I just want to build a life with you."

"Harm, listen to me for a second." When she had his undivided attention, she continued. "I don't _want_ you to give up anything for me. We're partners – we're supposed to treat each other like equals. We can figure out all the finer details together."

"So, does this mean we're both on the same page at the same time?" He asked for clarification.

She nodded. "It means we are both exactly where we are supposed to be."

"I want to kiss you right now, but there's not a mistletoe in sight..." Once again, he flashed the smile he only used on her.

She grinned. "You can kiss me without using a mistletoe for leverage."

"I do love you, Mac," he whispered against her lips before the pulled away from their kiss. "I'm not sure if I can pinpoint a time when I _didn't _love you."

"I love you. So much. You know," she began as they made their way to the bedroom, "I think you have the proper clearance now to hear my list..."

"I'm all ears, Mac. Spill." He was certainly amused.

"Well, I love that you have a strong moral compass, that you know you sometimes have to do the _wrong _things for the _right reasons_. I love that you've never thrown my alcoholism in my face and called me weak because of it like other people have. I love the thrill of opposing you in court. I love the way that you challenge me to be a better investigator and litigator."

They pulled down the comforter and slipped into bed.

"I love the way you say "Sarah" - it's not controlling or possessive. I love the way you play with Little AJ and how fiercely you protect children who are in danger." She reached over to turn off the lamp on the nightstand, but she still continued to speak. "I love how you aren't afraid to call me out on my shit. I love how excited you get and the sparkle in your eye when you talk about planes, and even though I get a little "airsick" when you do your theatrics in "Sarah" -or well, any plane really - I would go with you time and time again just to hear your laughter. I love that even in the most dangerous situations, I feel safe because you are there. And..."

Only this time, she paused. She couldn't decide if she should finish her last thought or not. After a brief internal debate, she decided to do it. This was a new frontier for them. They were a couple now, and honesty was imperative.

"I love the way I would catch you looking at me. Then, I saw that picture of Diane, and I knew you were seeing her, but still...somewhere along the line, there was shift. I would catch you looking at me, and you wouldn't look away. You would just hold my gaze and smile back."

Harm reached over Mac and turned the light back on. What he had to say was important, and he wanted her full attention. "Sarah," he began, "I have a confession to make."

Suddenly, she became nervous as she anxiously tried to deduce what his confession may be. He was so serious, so focused – like he was about to give the most important closing argument of his career.

"That night on the docks...when we first kissed..."

She nodded, showing that she was following.

"You just assumed I was kissing Diane, and I let you believe that, but I wasn't. When I saw you through the fog, wearing that uniform, I saw _you_\- Sarah MacKenzie. _You_ saved me from myself that night. He may have thought you were Diane's ghost, but not me. I saw _you_ for _you_."

He leaned forward to kiss her and hoped that it could convey everything her felt for her. He always felt that his actions spoke louder than words when it came to Mac, but he knew he had to find the words. She deserved the words.

"I love that from the very first time you stepped foot into my life nothing has ever been the same. I love that you challenge me. I love that you can hold your own an argument with me...you were honestly the first partner I ever had who would call me on my shit and tell me I was wrong. Even though I will _always, protect_ you, I love knowing that you don't _need_ me to – you're smart, resourceful, strong, and could drop kick anyone who so much as looks at you the wrong way into next week...myself included."

She smirked. "You're not wrong."

"I know," he said as he ran a finger along the curve of her cheek. "I love that you are the voice of reason I hear in my head when I come up with a halfcocked plan. I love what you did for me by going to Russia with me. I love how you are with Chloe and Little AJ. I love how you fold post-it notes into a triangle when you use them to mark something for a case, and there are a million more little random things that I love simply because _you_ do them."

"Oh, Harm." Sarah MacKenzie was gushing. She couldn't believe it. She felt like a little school girl with her first crush.

"But," Harm continued, "there is one thing that I don't love about you, and in order for this relationship to be successful, I think you need to work on it."

She could tell by the sparkle in his eyes and the tone of his voice that he was teasing her -whatever he was going to say obviously wasn't a deal breaker. "Oh, really? And what is that, Commander?"

"The way you make coffee…it's terrible!"

She resisted the urge to laugh, instead she kept her best lawyer voice in check as she playfully swatted him on the chest. "And what if I don't agree to those terms, Counselor? Is it really the be all end all? I could say your coffee is terrible, and you need to learn to make it my way," she countered. "Which, by the way, your coffee isn't all that great."

He pondered it for a moment. "Well, then. If neither one of us wants to change the way we make coffee, I think there would be only one way to remedy that…."

"Which would be?"

"To just get two coffee pots..." He suggested.

"You know," Mac began as she settled her head to rest against his chest. "I think we may end up being pretty good with this whole comprising thing after all."

Harm reached over to turn the lamp off before he settled back into bed again – pulling Mac close.  
"We have an eternity to figure it out."

"An eternity," Mac agreed.

And they soon drifted off to sleep – wrapped in the comfort of each other's embrace – with the promise of an eternity between them.

* * *

_Do I actually think Harm would have made in through the whole party without hearing about everything that happened while he wasn't there –especially Bud and Harriet's baby news? No, but please just humor me and my muse for this story. ;-)_


	2. Chapter 2

The new couple slept blissfully through the night. Harm was pleasantly surprised when he realized he woke up before Mac. She didn't move at all in her sleep, and she was laying on him in a way that made his arm numb, but it was a small price to pay in his mind.

He carefully maneuvered himself around her, and sat up to look at the clock on the dresser across the room. It was 0630 – not terribly early, but not quite sleeping in either. He thought about letting her sleep a little bit longer, but it was Christmas morning and she was the only gift he wanted to unwrap. There would be other days where they could sleep in for as long as they wanted, but today was just not one of them. Well, for him at least. He could only hope she felt that way, too.

"Sarah..." he said softly, drawing out the syllables of her name like a song. "Are you awake? It's Christmas morning." He trailed a finger along the curve of her face.

She mumbled something he couldn't quite understand. It sounded like she said something about being the best dream ever, but he couldn't tell for sure.

Changing tactics, he rolled over and placed feather light kisses along her forehead and nose. "Good morning," he said in another sing-song voice as a smile appeared on Mac's sleeping face. At her smile, he applied more pressure to the kiss he peppered over her face.

Mac was dreaming. She was sure of it, and it was such a good dream that she didn't want to wake up. She dreamt that last night she and Harm finally addressed the five-hundred-pound gorilla in the room when it came to their relationship and the result was that they were on the same page at the same time. It would have been all her Christmas wishes coming true.

Now, it felt like someone was kissing her. The sensation started as a light kiss to her forehead, then trailing down her neck, where the pressure would gradually increase and then she thought she felt the swirl of a tongue against the hallow of her neck. She thanked God she had such an active imagination, before she thought maybe Jingo was just trying to wake her up so she would take him on a walk.

_Wait a second._..she thought. _Jingo went to live with Chloe's grandparents – a long time ago!_

Her eyes flew open, and immediately locked with his, as he was propped up on his elbows above her with his knees on either side of her body.

She looked confused, and Harm suddenly grew worried that maybe he was moving too fast for her.

"I'm, uh, sorry, Mac." He started to apologize.

It only to a nanosecond for Mac's brain to catch up, and she realized that nothing about her "dream" was a dream. It was all real. All her Christmas wishes _did _come true. "No, no," she cut him off with a smile. "Please don't be sorry. I was just confused...I thought you were Jingo for a second."

He looked downright insulted. "You thought I was _Jingo?_ Do I kiss like a _dog_?"

She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist – locking her ankles together to keep him in place and bringing him closer to her all at the same time. "No! You're a very good kisser," she assured him – and he really was. "I was just confused...I thought I was dreaming," she explained. "That there was no way last night really happened, and then I felt you kissing me and somewhere in my half-asleep state I thought that Jingo was trying to wake me up to go for a walk."

"Hm," he said, but she could tell that he still wasn't entirely satisfied with her response.

She figured it would do some good to stroke his ego a bit since she started off on the wrong foot this morning. Although, she was well aware of his jealous streak when it came to her, so there was a chance that what she was going to say next would backfire. "You're the _best_ kisser, Harm - a _much _better kisser than Mic. And I can already tell you'll do other things much better than Mic, too." She was pleased when his eyebrow shot up, his chest puffed out and a satisfied smirk appeared on his face. "That man really did kiss like a sloppy dog," she slipped her hand under his shirt and grazed her fingernails along his chest. "That kiss _we _shared on the admiral's porch...well...let's just say it was the subject of many fantasies for a very long time...hell, even last week, too be honest."

Immediately, he was intrigued. "Tell me about these fantasies..."

Her breath hitched as he ran his hands along her body. "Well, there were fantasies before that, too," she admitted, "but the ones after that night, were the most intense. I could close my eyes and feel your lips on mine. I would touch myself, and wish it was you. The fantasies always felt so real, so amazing, and then reality would hit, and I would realize it was all in my imagination. It was a blessing and a curse in a way." She wanted to say more, but she was so distracted by his actions and how they were making her feel, that her brain couldn't process the thoughts anymore. Instead, she could only let out little moans and sighs of pleasure.

That smile that he only used on her appeared again before he resumed kissing her. "You've been the subject of many fantasies yourself, Mac," he whispered just millimeters away from her lips as he started to work on the buttons of her pajamas.

Her smile mirrored his. She always wondered if he fantasized about her. "Oh yeah?" Her voice was breathy and her heart was racing. "What were those like?" she asked.

"Nuh-huh," he shook his head. "Those are for another time."

"You won't even give me a hint?" she pouted.

"Okay, maybe just one hint," he decided.

"There's a recurring fantasy that involves a you, me and a shower."

"That's _very_ hot," she offered as her brain filled with images of the two of them acting out that particular fantasy.

"Like you."

* * *

Mac felt herself flush as she remembered the more intimate details of that night. Throughout the years of their relationship, they've enjoyed a very versatile and fulfilling love life, but there was something about that very first time on that fateful Christmas morning that was the most vibrant memory she had.

It was the memory that got her through the many TADs that kept them apart for days at a time. It was the memory that she reminded herself of when they would fight. It was the memory she thought of when busy work and kid schedules left them exhausted. But it wasn't just the memory of the lovemaking itself that she savored. It was also the memory of the night before – when they confessed their love to each other and shared the things they loved about each other, too. _That was_ the memory that soothed her soul in the best ways. It was especially comforting when most of their phone calls lately went something like:

"_Hi, it's me. I miss you. I guess we're just going to be playing phone tag. I thought I'd be home by New Year's Eve, but I just don't know. This case won't wrap up. I love you."_

"_Hey, Mac. Sorry I missed you again. We seem to be missing more than connecting, lately. I was in court when you called. Things are fine here, but not the same without you. I hope your case wraps up soon. Love you."_

"_Hi -can't believe I missed you again. Good news! The case went to the jury...I might make it home __by __New Year's after all! Tell the kids I love them and give them a hug and kiss for me."_

It had been six years since that day, and almost six years since their February wedding. They got married in La Jolla over a long weekend with the people closest to them – Trish, Frank, Bud, Harriet, the admiral and Chloe (Mac was pretty sure that Harriet and Chloe were just as excited about it as she was). They didn't need to date or have long engagement – they knew they were going to spend the rest of their lives together, so why waste more time?

Like all couples, they had their share of ups and downs. Career changes were an adjustment, but they made it through. It was strange, at first, not being able to work together any more, but in the grand scheme of things, it was a small price to pay to be together as a couple. Mac transferred to the judiciary at Marine Base Quantico, and Harm remained at JAG. There was scuttlebutt that he was in the running to make Captain and get a billet in London, though. Mac was really happy for him, and understood that her career might have to take a back burner for a while. She was okay with that, really. It was what happens from time to time when two successful military officers are in a relationship. She just hoped that the children would adapt well if they moved across the pond.

Ah, yes, the children. The thought of them would always bring a smile to her face. The timetable on the baby deal became null and void when she became pregnant shortly after they became a couple. Neither one them had been surprised – they weren't _actively_ trying, but they weren't doing anything to prevent it from happening, either. Actually, she ended up taking a home pregnancy not too long after they returned from La Jolla.

* * *

It was one cold, rainy afternoon late in February when Mac slipped into the apartment juggling several bags from the grocery store and her briefcase which contained a very important bag from a different stop she made. Life had been a fantastic whirlwind lately, and after an impromptu lunch with Harriet, Mac knew there was no way she'd be able to go back to work for the day. She ran her errands and went home instead.

"Married life suits you," Harriet had told her with a smile over lunch. "I've never seen you and Commander Rabb this happy before. You look great – like the happiness is just radiating from you in waves. It's like you're glowing."

Mac blushed. "Well, thank you," she smiled. "At least I look better than I feel," she muttered.

Harriet furrowed her brow, concerned. "What do you mean?"

Mac shrugged. "I think I picked up a stomach bug thanks to that commercial flight to La Jolla. I've been tired, too, like I can't quite kick the jet lag. Plus, we went out to eat so much while we were there that it really made me feel bloated. I guess that's why I'm eating rabbit food like Harm! I mean look at this pathetic salad! I just don't have the appetite for my regular food choices right now. Maybe I should add another gym day to my routine."

Although, if Mac to be completely honest, she and Harm were definitely burning off plenty of calories in their extra-curricular activities with one another – which was much more appealing to her than adding another gym day to her schedule.

"AJ's daycare did send a letter home saying a bug has been going around." Harriet stabbed some lettuce from her own salad with her fork. "I feel like that, but I'm pregnant."

Mac dropped her silverware on the table with a loud clatter; her eyes grew wide.

Harriet smiled mischievously. "Colonel? Do you think..."

Mac couldn't speak – she could only nod as she ran through another check list in her mind. Her breasts were sore lately, which was rationalized was due in part to PMS, her back had been bothering her a little bit, but she thought she probably just pulled a muscle when she and Harm tried out one of their more creative positions, but the biggest clue of all that she somehow didn't notice before? Her period was definitely late, and not just by a day or two either.

Harriet cover her mouth her hand. "Oh, ma'am!" She finally exclaimed happily, before she realized Mac seemed shell shocked. "This is a good thing, right, Colonel?"

Mac nodded – a smile morphing over her features. "Yes, a very good thing, if I am pregnant," she tried not to get her hopes up too much in case she wasn't. "I know some people might think Harm and I are moving so fast, but it's not like that at all. Harm and I...we've...well, we've always been in that awkward place of more than just friends, but less than lovers, before we got together. Everything just feels so right with him. I never really believed in soulmates before, but with him that's how I feel. We actually made a baby deal before," she confessed.

"A baby deal? Do you mean like a backup plan?"

"I guess so, but it _never_felt like a backup plan. It always felt like _the_ plan – like Harm was just putting a timetable on that awkward dance of ours, but then...life got in the way...he went to fly, the whole Mic saga happened which in turn led to the Renee saga, and well, yeah, everything just got really messy for a while..."

Harriet wrinkled her nose. "Just how long ago did you make this deal?"

Mac blushed. "The day Little AJ was born...probably about one minute and forty seconds after you guys left on the ambulance."

"Oh, Mac..."

She continued to relay the conversation that day to Harriet word for word.

"The commander is going to be ecstatic," Harriet gushed as she rubbed a hand over her growing belly when Mac finished telling the story. "And I see lots of play dates in our futures."

"If I really am pregnant..."

"Well, I guess you need to stop at the pharmacy after lunch..." Harriet smiled.

And now here she was – holding a _positive_ pregnancy test in her hands – a mere thirteen days after their wedding ceremony. She went into the kitchen and studied the calendar, trying to determine when this baby would have been conceived. It looked like the very end of January or very beginning of February. She gently placed her hand over her belly and smiled. "Oh, little one, your daddy is going to be so happy to find out about you," she whispered aloud to the room.

Harm couldn't get home from work soon enough as far as she was concerned.

Several painfully slow hours later, Harm finally returned home from work. "Hey, Mac." He smiled when he saw her sitting on the couch curled up reading a magazine. "You're home early," he commented as he began to take off his overcoat and uniform jacket.

"Hi," she smiled as she shifted her position on the couch so he would sit next to her. "How was your day?" she asked. "I tried to wait around for you and Bud at lunch, but it didn't look like you two were going to get out of court, so Harriet and I went alone."

He loosened his tie and plopped down next to her one the couch.

She frowned – she could swear she could feel the tension radiating from his body has soon as he sat down. "You're tense."

He sighed. "Let's just say that our client is being uncooperative and making it really hard for us to give him a decent defense."

"I'm sorry. Come here," she pulled him, towards her so his head was resting in her lap. "Let me see if I can help you with that."

"Mmm, Mac," he sighed contently as she alternated between massaging his temples and running her fingers through his hair. "You have the magic touch, Marine." He could feel the stress of the day disappearing with each touch.

"Well, I learned these skills from you, Flyboy."

"I guess I'm good for a few things," he teased. "Did you want to go out for dinner tonight or order in? We're probably past due for a trip to the grocery store."

"I actually did a quick stop at the grocery store this afternoon. You see, I was really in the mood for soup, so I called Grandma Sarah and she talked me through the recipe for her famous wedding soup. It should be done simmering soon."

He made a small smile. "That's my favorite soup." His horrible day was starting to look up.

"I hope it lives up to your expectations – Grams told me I could take some shortcuts and use a rotisserie chicken and frozen meatballs...It amazes me that Mr. Practically A Vegetarian's' favorite soup has _two_ types of meat in it. You're a confusing man, Harmon Rabb."

He chuckled at her comment - the irony of his favorite soup not being lost on him. As he grew up, his food preferences changed, but the love he had for the soup his grandmother had been making for years would never change. "It's going to be great, Mac. Don't let her fool you; Grams has been taking those shortcuts with that soup since before I was in high school. You must have been home for a while if you had time to go to the store and make soup all before I got home." He commented after a beat or two had passed.

"My meeting wrapped up around 1130, and then Harriet and I were done with lunch by 1300. I didn't go to Quantico after that."

"Ah, so you were playing hooky, Your Honor?" He asked, his eyes still closed.

She smiled. "I guess you could call it that; I had something very important to do." She took a deep breath. She left the pregnancy test on the vanity in the bathroom and was just going to let him stumble upon it himself, but she changed her mind. She wanted to tell him and she wanted to see his reaction the moment he realized they were going to be parents. "Harm?"

"Yeah, Mac?" He was still distracted by her soothing touch.

"I didn't go back to work because I went to pick up a pregnancy test from the pharmacy..."

He eyes flew open and locked with hers – his signature smile already in the making. "And?" he asked, hopefully, the glimmer in his eye growing brighter by the second.

She nodded her head excitedly. "It was positive. We're going to have a baby!" She said softly, her voice filled with emotion.

In an instant, his full smile was in place as maneuvered them around so she was pinned between the cushions of the couch and his body. "I love you, Sarah," he kissed her. "So. Very. Much." Each word was punctuated with kiss. Then, he pushed up the hem of her shirt and pressed a gentle kiss to her belly. "And I love you, too, little baby." He said before resting his cheek against her stomach with a grin still on his face.

* * *

"Mac!" Harm called from the living room several weeks later. "If you don't hurry up, we'll never make it to Bethesda on time!" Never in a million years would he have thought that _he _would be telling Sarah MacKenzie to hurry up or they would be late, but pregnancy was a fascinating process that resulted in all kinds of changes.

"Don't rush me!" She snapped, followed by, "Help me with my uniform. Please." The "please," however, was abrupt; like it was added as an afterthought.

Harm made his way back into the bedroom and found Mac struggling to zip her skirt.

"A hand please?" She asked, exasperated, when he just stared at her for a second.

"You know, Mac, it's a lot more fun to take your clothes _off_ of you than it is to put them _on _you_."_

His attempt at humor backfired. "Well, that's what got us into the predicament," she snapped as she sucked in as much air as she could. "Can you get the zipper up?"

"Yeah, I think so. Just a second. Maybe it's time to switch to a maternity uniform?" He suggested tentatively, as he was fully prepared to take cover if she had something to throw at him.

"No! It's too soon for that."

"Mac, if they uniform doesn't fit, just get a maternity one...it's not that big of a deal."

"That's easy for you to say, Stickboy. You're not the one getting fat."

"You aren't fat."

"Twelve weeks is too early to switch to maternity clothes," she argued. "I'm definitely fat if I need a maternity uniform already. Maybe we miscalculated the due date at the first appointment," she muttered under her breath as she made a mental note to remember to ask the doctor if that was possible.

"I don't think there is any set rule for when a woman _has_ to wear maternity clothes, Mac." He rolled his eyes jokingly. "Isn't it just about whatever makes _you_ comfortable?"

"Well, you just wouldn't understand." She reached for her cover from the dresser with a huff. "I'll meet you in the car."

"Maybe the baby just has your appetite?" He called after her.

"Not funny, Commander!" she fired back before slamming the door behind her.

The beginning of Mac's appointment was pretty standard. The nurse went over everything they could expect during the twelve-week scan and now they were just waiting for Mac's doctor, Commander Vogel, and the ultrasound tech.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you earlier," Mac said out of nowhere.

Harm's head snapped around to look at her. "Is that an apology?"

She grinned, recalling a previous conversation. "Maybe more like an acknowledgement."

A knock on the door interrupted the couple's laughter. "Enter!" Mac called – out of habit.

Commander Vogel was probably a few years older and a couple inches shorter than Mac, with long blonde hair rolled into the standard Navy bun. She had welcoming green eyes and a warm comforting smile. She was the best doctor Mac ever had. "Colonel, Commander," she greeted. "Excited to see Baby today?" she asked.

Mac nodded her head as the tech slathered the jelly on her belly.

"At the eight-week ultrasound, the baby was roughly the size of a raspberry or a kidney bean," she reminded the couple. "Any idea about what the baby is roughly the size of this time? Commander, care to make a guess?" she prompted after a beat had passed and neither her patient nor her patient's husband had said anything.

"No way!" He shook his head.

The doctor chuckled. "That's right. You're a JAG, you don't like when you don't already know the answers to a question."

"It's a trap, Doc. If I guess a something that is too big, I'll never hear the end of it. She'll have on KP duty for the rest of my life."

"Colonel, care to make a guess?"

"A bell pepper?" Mac asked.

"No," the doctor chuckled again. "That's not until about eighteen weeks. At this stage, the baby is about the size of a plum or a lime."

"That's it?!"

"Mmhm," the doctor commented as the wand moved over Mac's belly and the image stabilized on the screen. "Huh," Commander Vogel commented, incredibly focused on the screen, followed by a "Hmm."

"Is there something wrong?" Harm asked, immediately concerned by the doctor's vague "huh" and "hmm."

Mac reach for her husband's hand. "What is it, Commander?" she asked - fear already filling in the pit of her stomach.

"Well, Colonel MacKenzie, you probably feel like the baby is as big as a bell pepper because there are _two _plum sized babies in there."

Instantly, the feeling went from fear to shock. "I'm sorry did you say two babies?" Mac asked as she tried to prop herself up on her elbows to get a better view of the screen.

Harm – with his deer in the headlight expression - looked from Mac, to the screen, to the doctor and then back to Mac again. "Tw-twins?

The doctor nodded. "Do twins run in either one of your families?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," Mac said.

"No, I don't think so."

Commander Vogel came from a family with a long line of twins – her grandmother had four sets of twins, her own brothers were twins, her aunt had twins and two of her cousins had twins as well. She always loved delivering the twin news to a couple to see their reactions. Usually, people were always very surprised.

Finally, Harm's brain was able to process the information in more depth. "How - how is that possible? the first ultrasound didn't show two babies..."

"That's not all that uncommon, especially when the first ultrasound was conducted so early," the doctor began to explain. "The early scan is just a quick scan to check in on Baby and try to confirm a due of it like an eclipse. The babies were positioned directly behind each other, so since the scan was two-dimensional, it only picked up the view of one baby."

The couple just stared at her still unable to believe they were going to have _two_ babies.

"I never would have dreamed there were _two_ babies." Mac whispered.

"Sonography came along way in the recent decades, but it's not foolproof. My cousin didn't find out about her twins until the twenty-four-week scan, due in part to their position and the fact that they weren't active at the same times. It was a shock to her, too, and twins run in our family," Commander Vogel smiled warmly. "Twins are a lot of work, but you two will be just fine," she assured them.

"That's...amazing..." Harm said, taking a step closer to the monitor, finally releasing Mac's hand from his so he could bring his hand to the monitor and touch it – as if that would make everything seem more real.

"It's just…oh, Harm. Wow." Mac scrubbed her hands over her face and then laughed. "I think we better move up our house hunting plans now...and trade in my car...and start saving for college...and..." She stopped her rambling when he turned around to face her again with a smile that instantly calmed her nerves.

"Tomorrow," he said simply. "We can start all of that tomorrow, let's just take today to savor this moment."

* * *

As time went by and their twins morphed into toddlers who were finding their own identities, Harm and Mac couldn't help but to wonder if their baby deal tempted fate into giving them twins.

Their son, Noah, had his mother's looks and his father's brains. He loved all things Navy and airplanes, but he was a spitting image of his mother with her eyes, her nose, and her chin. Their daughter, Charlotte, had her father's looks and her mother's brains. She loved dinosaurs and Beltway Burger, and she wasn't afraid to hold her own when Noah told her she couldn't do something. She had her father's eyes, nose, and cheeks. The one thing, however, that Mac was eternally grateful for, was that they both inherited their father's smile.

The twins had turned five a couple of months ago and were quite a handful...they definitely knew how to push each other's buttons and how to come up with a plan that would really test their parents' patience, but Harm and Mac would both say that parenthood was the greatest "order" they had ever been given.

Mac couldn't wait to get home to her husband and her children. She left Christmas morning, right after the kids opened their presents and before they even ate brunch. Noah and Charlotte had been completely heartbroken, and Harm and Mac didn't cope much better themselves. The timing of this assignment really through a wrench into their holiday plans, but that was what happened when the judge who was assigned the court-martial in San Diego suffered a medical emergency and Mac was next up on the rotation for orders to cover.

"Daddy, is Mommy coming home for New Year's Toast?" Noah asked his father as they gathered around the kitchen island preparing for the New Year's Eve "party."

"I'm not sure," Harm deflected. Mac did say she was going to try to make it home tonight, but she didn't know for sure if she could pull it off. He didn't want to get their hopes up if Mac's travel plans ended up changing.

"I miss Mommy," Charlotte chimed in. "Mommy only called once," she pouted, "and she's been gone _forever_."

"I know," Harm said sadly. "That happens sometimes when Mommy and I go away for work. It's really hard to call, but we love you and Noah and think about you about the whole entire time. We can't wait to come home and give you hugs and kisses!"

"I have lots of hugs and kisses to give Mommy."

"Hey, I do too!" Noah said – not to be outdone by his sister.

"I have more!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Harm interrupted. "Enough of that. If you're going to fight with each other, it's going to be bedtime right now."

Charlotte and Noah mumbled their apologies.

Harm glanced at the clock and realized it was already almost 2245. Truthfully, he was surprised that kids were still awake. Much like their parents, when they put their mind to something, they really did commit to seeing it through.

"Okay, everything is pretty much done in here," Harm said with a clap of his hands. "Now we just wait until a little bit closer to midnight to make our toast."

"What's next, Daddy?" Charlotte asked.

"Well, I'm thinking we can bring our snacks into the playroom and you can each pick a book for us to read together."

Noah's eyes grew wide. "Snacks in the playroom? Mom never lets us take food there!"

"Well," Harm began, "it is a special occasion tonight, so I think we can make an exception _once_," he held up one finger.

A short time later, the three of them were sitting on the futon in the playroom. Noah and Charlotte each had a string cheese stick and a bowl of pretzels and were munching happily while they listened to their father read to them. When Harm finished the last book, he wasn't surprised that Charlotte requested "the story."

"Don't you think you've heard that story so many times that you can tell it to me now?" He asked.

Charlotte batted her eyelashes and clasped her hands together. "But, Daddy, you tell the story bestest. Pretty please?"

"Yeah," Noah agreed with his sister. "Mommy doesn't tell the story like you."

"Once upon a time," Harm began and the twins snuggled close to him – grinning over the fact that their dad was going to tell them the story. "A very beautiful marine major shook hands with a naval aviator..."

"Wait!" Charlotte interrupted. "When Mom tells the story, she says that the aviator was very handsome. She said he was the handsomest man with the bestest smile. You forgot that part..."

Harm chuckled. "Oh, right. Once upon a time, a very beautiful marine major shook hands with handsome naval aviator in a rose garden," he began again before he continued tell the story of his and Mac's relationship in an abbreviated child friendly way. It contained everything from the day they met to the day the twins were born. The story always ended with a list of things that Harm and Mac loved about each other.

"That aviator really loves the marine," Charlotte commented with a yawn. It was her favorite bedtime story, and now she was sleepy, but she refused to fall asleep before midnight. "And he really loves the marine, too."

"Oh, very much," Harm confirmed.

"When Mommy tells the story, she says all the things the marine loves about the aviator," Noah said.

"Well, you have to have Mommy tell you the story to hear that part then," he grinned.

"Maybe you don't tell the story the bestest," Charlotte pondered, crossing her arms.

"It's bestest when you and Mom tell it together!"

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! That's how it's the bestest," Charlotte agreed with her brother. "When Mommy and Daddy tell it at the same time!"

That was how Mac found them sometime later as she stood in the entryway of the playroom with a smile plastered on her face. She loved witnessing moments like these. It only took a moment before Noah spotted her.

"Mommy!" He jumped up from the couch and made a beeline for his mother.

Charlotte was not far behind. "You're home!"

She smothered them with hugs and kisses, and Harm gave the kids a little bit of time with her before he stood up to greet her and steal a kiss himself. "Welcome home, Ninja Girl," he greeted after placing a kiss on her cheek. "We missed you."

"I missed you all so much," she replied. "And I love you both, but you're too big for me to hold both at the same time like this," she said to the kids after some time had passed. "So, one of you has to go to Daddy."

"Me, me, me!" Charlotte chanted as she held her arms out to Harm.

"Come here, Ladybug," he said as she effortlessly transitioned to his arms from Mac's.

"Mom, you made it home for New Year's toast!"

"New Year's toast?" she asked.

"Mmhm!" Noah bobbed his head up and down. "I knew you'd be here."

Mac looked to Harm for an explanation of what "New Year's toast" was.

"They heard Mom and Frank say they were going to Baltimore to toast the new year with some friends, so Noah and Charlotte thought that meant they were going to ring in the new year eating toast. They didn't want to be left out, so I said we could eat toast at midnight, too," he winked.

She loved the childhood innocence of "toasting" the new year that her children had, and it made her heart so happy that she made it home in time to join them for it. "Well, we have nine minutes and twenty seconds before it's midnight. I think we should go get that toast ready, don't you?"

Charlotte and Noah nodded as their parents set them on their feet.

"Why don't you two go ahead and wait for us in the kitchen. Dad and I will be right there," Mac suggested.

"'Kay!"  
"Okay!"

With the kids on their way to the kitchen, Harm could now give his wife a proper welcome home kiss.

"Mmm," she sighed, happily, as he leaned into her and she came to rest against the wall. "I've missed you."

"I've been dreaming about you," he told her, his voice low.

"Dreaming or fantasizing?" she asked, sheepishly, loving the way the weight of his body felt against her.

"Maybe a little of both," he confessed – his breath was hot against her skin. "But is it really a fantasy if I know that I get to touch you," his hands trailed along her arms, "and kiss you," he trailed kisses from her neck upwards to her lips, "when you come home?"

"Mom!"  
"Dad!"

They chuckled as they pulled away from each other knowing that their tête-à-tête would have to be tabled for the moment.

"They'll be out like a light as soon as they eat their midnight toast," Harm told her, their foreheads pressed against each other as he savored everything about her.

She pressed her nose to his – giving him an Eskimo kiss of sorts. "Then we'll pick this up in the new year, I suppose."

"I'll be looking forward to it," he flashed his flyboy grin at her.

"Me, too," she smiled back. "Me, too."

And that is exactly what happened – at midnight they Rabb family "toasted" the new year – quite literally with buttered toast and cinnamon sugar – and then by 0015 the kids were asleep in their beds, and Harmon and Sarah Rabb rang in the new year in the own special way.

* * *

My original intent was to pick this story up on Harm and Mac's first New Year's Eve as a couple (and post on NYE) but then I hit a wall... and didn't think I'd ever finish this. However, I was lucky enough to spend plenty quality time recently with the newest set of twins in my family (and their older siblings!) and this story soon took on a mind of its own. Hope you all enjoyed reading!


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